Nature Museum

Where does the inspiration that fuels your writing come from?
Movies? Other books? Dreams? Conversations?

Mine can come from all of those, inspiration seems to hit when you least expect it. Today I went somewhere I never thought to go for inspiration - a nature museum.
 In my family it used to be tradition on birthdays to go to the museums here in Ottawa (Science and Tecnology Museum, Nature Museum or the Aviation Museum) Of all of those my favourite was the Nature Museum or "The Castle Museum" as we liked to call it.

Can you guess why?

I, however, had not been there in years. So, I made a point to visit it since I now live in Ottawa. Today was National Museum day so my husband and I got to visit for free!

To put all your fears at rest, that was not a REAL dinosaur, despite what you may think...

At one point I was looking intently into a display case and saw some vesuvianite (the green crystal). I though my husband was standing behind me so I cried out excitedly: "I have some of that at home!" as I turned towards him. Then I realized that it was not my husband behind me as I had thought. It was a woman who ran off rather quickly O_O

They had some of my favourite kinds of birds; loons, falcons and hawks!
One of my characters is named Falcon :)

I also saw a kestrel for the first time and was imediately reminded of Lloyd Alexander's book: "The Kestrel."
He was a favorite author of mine when I was younger.
 

Have you ever visted somewhere and unexpectedly found inspiration? If so, where? 

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke - Review

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke- my all-time favourite book! And here is why:

The Covers for the whole series are amazing. I was the first thing to attract me to it. It captures the feel of the books without giving anything away.

The Quotes at the beginning of each chapter pertain to the plot. I enjoyed studying the quotes and trying to guess what would happen next.

The Plot was brilliant: Mo, Maggie's father can read characters out of books! He accidentally reads a particularly evil one out and reads his own wife in! He spends years trying to get her back. Maggie discovers she has her father's gift and they both find themselves on an adventure that usually only happens in books.

What reader hasn't fantasized about meeting their favourite fictional characters?

The Descriptions, next to the plot, were my favourite part of the books. Cornelia Funke has a wonderful gift for description, some times I would re-read parts just because I loved the way she made words come alive.

The Characters were 3D, you really fall in love with their quirks and even though Dustfinger, the fire-dancer, can frustrate the reader, the story would not be the same without him.

I Disliked the swearing. Mild swearwords though they were, I was shocked to find them in a children's book.
The plot was wonderful but the story's pacing was not very good. In the first book Mo, Maggie and Dustfinger get captured and escape too many times. The book felt dis-jointed at some parts.

The Verdict: well, as I mentioned at the beginning of this post, Inkheart is my favourite book. So, I absolutely love the series!

"Incarnate" by Jodi Meadows - Review

Where have I been?
I'm not entirely sure. See, I've been working and editing... and... well that's all I can remember O_O Oh! Yes! I've also been reading!


I started a fantasy book that I decided 3/4's of the way through - sucked. So, while I was looking for a birthday present for my husband at Chapters the other day (where else would I look?), I glanced around for a book to read. To my dismay, all I saw were.... fairy, vampire and werewolf books. *Sigh* I think my generation doesn't have good taste in books. Not that I have anything against paranormal books, but the obsession that goes along with them doesn't sit well with me.
Then! I remembered... "What was that book...? That one I read about on the author's blog...?... Ah-ha!"


And that, my friends, is how I bought "Incarnate" by Jodi Meadows.

 Synopsis:
Ana is the first "newsoul" to be born in Range. For thousands of years people have lived, died, and been born again while keeping the memories from their previous lives. Ana, however, replaced someone. She was never supposed to be born. Her mother hates her and many are afraid there will be more like her that will replace old souls.
At 18 she travels to Heart, the city where most of the population of Range lives. Along the way she is rescued from drowning by Sam, a music composer. His body is around the same ages as hers but he has lived and died hundreds of times.
He watches out for her and takes her to Heart with him. There, Ana searches for the reason for her existence.
The counsel, however, isn't as eager as Sam is to receive her and she is subjected to their rules. They claim it is for her safety and benefit. But she asks too many questions about things others think she shouldn't. She finds herself in danger of being killed. Ana and Sam form a strong attachment through music which quickly becomes much more.



What I liked:
It was unique. I'd never read a fantasy book about reincarnation before. The book kept me engaged all the way through.
I liked that Ana accepted help from Sam. Most female characters tend to try to be too tough and it's hard for me to relate to them when I am frustrated with them every time they get into a conversation with their romantic interest. Ana, however, had a nice balance of independence while still relying on others. Her character development was well paced.
The imagery in the book was also quite good. Imagery is something that I have always found hard to write but Jodi Meadows had enough description to give me a vivid picture in my head without overwhelming with details.
The book is well written.


What I Didn't Like:
I appreciated the idea that a soul isn't defined by it's gender but I wasn't a fan of the idea that people's souls were reincarnated into both male and female bodies, depending on the life-time.
Sam and Ana make some suggestive comments to each other near in the latter half of the book. In my opinion, books for teens have far too much of that these days. “Intimate” scenes are uncalled for, especially in books for teen girls (I ought to know, I'm still one myself). I prefer to read and suggest a book to friends without being uncomfortable about parts in it. I returned "The Graceling" by Kristin Cashore to Chapters for that very reason and ranted to my friends about how annoyed I was.


Verdict:
Over-all, I liked “Incarnate” and look forward to the sequel!

Thinking too Much

Back when I first met my husband he sent me a story that he wrote using only dialogue, which inspired me to write one of my own. This is what I came up with:

Thinking too Much  
by Grace R. Pringle 

“What have you been doing?”

“Huh?”

“You, what have you been doing.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, YOU.”

“I’ve been thinking.”

“For the past hour? The whole time? What in the world could be so important to think about so much?”

“That’s the thing, there is nothing important anymore. I was thinking about how there should be more important things to think about.”

“What are you talking about? There are plenty of important things.”

“For YOU maybe, not for me.”

“Come on, there must be something, at one time or another, which you thought was important.”

“Sure, but that was before, I’m talking about now, what’s important now.”

“That’s easy, it’s all still important, just because time has passed doesn’t mean the importance of important things has changed.”

“That’s because you think important things are important, see, I just think unimportant things should be important because they aren’t.”

“Alright, fine. As long as you still acknowledge that there are important things to think about.”

“Do you think thinking is important?”

“Of course, why wouldn’t it be?”

“I dunno, it just seems that there are other, more important things to think about instead of thinking.”

“I think that all depends on what degree of importance thinking is on.”

“But if something is important (whether or not it is very important or just slightly important) isn’t it all still important and should be treated as important even if the other thing is more important?”

“Yeah.”

“You stopped.”

“Stopped what?”

“The flow of conversation. We were talking and then you said ‘yeah’ and you stopped.”

“I couldn’t think of anything else to say, you were going in circles. At least… I think you were.”

“Why didn’t you just say; ‘you’re going in circles” then?”

“I thought it would be rude.”

“Then you should have said “I don’t mean to be rude (or do mean to be) but either way, you’re going in circles.’”

“That would be your statement, not mine.”

“Well, it would have been yours if you had said it first.”

“I would not have thought of it because it was meant to be your thought, not mine.”

“How do you know it was meant to be mine if you had said it first?”

“That’s stupid, there isn’t such thing as “what could have been” it happens the way it happens or is thought the way it is thought and there are no exceptions because there was no other way to go about it even if there appears to have been.”

“That’s what you think, it isn’t what I think.”

“Doesn’t one of us have to be right? I don’t think there can be two rights about a one, don’t you?”

“I have not thought about it. Mostly because I wasn’t sure if thinking was important enough to think about thinking it.”

“Let’s just say it is all true and leave it at that.”

“But it has to be solved; if we say there are two rights but each of us is convinced there is only ‘one’ doesn’t that create a paradox and collapse time and space and thought and all that is important about there being “one right?”

“I don’t know… maybe we should think about it.”

“I was before you asked me what I was doing.”

“… And you only spent an hour thinking about it?”

Motivated?

Writing is a habit. I say this because I seem to have fallen out of it this past year.
It is so easy to say "I'll write that down later" or "if I put it on my desktop in plain view I'll get around to it for sure." What usually happens is that automatic dismissal of that project forms every time it catches your eye.

Here are some lessons I've learned (I re-learn them often.)

--Writing needs to be made a daily activity. It isn't a matter of fitting it into your schedule it's a matter of simply DOING it. Don't skip out on it if you are too tired that day or feel too busy. Not so easy, I know.

--The life of a writer isn't exactly cookie-cutter "go to work, get money, come home." It's: write, write, write, I-have-a-billion-other-things-to-do-right-now-but-I'm-going-to-write-anyway, write, write, write, research-publishing-companies-authors-and-writing-tips-till-your-eyes-blurr, write, write, write...

--Eating shouldn't become an option.
It's hard to write when you're thinking about how hungry you are, no matter how interesting a conversation your characters are having.
Some people find it motivating to write first thing in the morning with breakfast as a reward for their work. However, I have found that extremely unhelpful so I eat first.

--Grabbing the opportunity to write whenever you feel motivated is key to getting something written.
If you pass those opportunities off then you lose some of your most powerful writing.
When you are passionate and interested in something a reader will notice it.
Not to say that is an excuse not to write when you don't feel like it.

Is it October already? The 15th you say? Now I'm worried. It happens to be my birthday in a week and that always gets me into a reminiscing mood, thinking over the past year and what's been done in it.

Here is my list of accomplishments:

~ I resolved to edit/write more of my books (that was done in short spurts and for short times)
~ Started writing articles for a magazine (before this year I didn't think I had anything article-worthy but it seemed all that was needed was the right subject) http://www.homeschoolhorizons.ca/2012/02/meet-our-writers-grace-lindeman/
~ Planned a wedding (not on my own, thank goodness!) and got married.

~Started a writer's book club called "The Signature Literary Society" with several other writing friends
~ Moved out of home and into an apartment with my husband
~ Bought books
~ Got a part-time job
~ Decided cooking wasn't so bothersome after all!

In that order. Though, "bought books" MIGHT have been a "whole year" thing.

Next to getting married, my niece's birth was my favourite event of the year :D

I have some truly wonderful people in my life and a Father who loves me; this year was beautiful.

The Worst Book I've Ever Read

I have torn myself away from the usual wedding preparations and evening's diversions to bring you a book rant.

I just finished reading a horrid book. I bought it a couple months ago at "Value Village" for $3. The cover was green and there was a dragon on the front, I figured I'd lose nothing in buying it. I was wrong.
The story was hard to follow and he (the author) jumped all over the place without warning or explanation.
Finally, at the end I thought it would all make sense. It didn't. I endured confusion, foul language and inappropriate scenes only to find I'd wasted all those reading hours. The main character was depraved and I could not connect with her on any level at all.

Now I can say with absolute certainty that "The Iron Dragon's Daughter" by Michael Swanwick is the worst book I've ever read and I (who love books with a passion) can actually say I hate it.
I usually try very hard to find the best in every book I've read; this one I cannot. The only credit I can give him is the idea of an iron dragon but even that idea's potential was ruined.
It annoys me further that Swanwick wrote it as homage to J.R.R. Tolkien, he the first and greatest of fantasy writers. The book also received three awards. Perhaps they were applauding his ability to disgust, shock and leave readers unsatisfied? "Look at the reaction he invoked! Let's award it!"
Part of writing is about making the reader react to what they are reading but just because someone accomplishes it by shock and twisted, corrupt ideas doesn't mean they have accomplished a high form of writing.


The one good thing I got out of the book was a clear picture of what kind of writer I do not want to be.

Money...? What Money?

There's something so wonderful and exciting about receiving a check for something I've written!

Sure, I've been paid much more for other work done but when I hold in my hands the proof that someone, somewhere is interested in what I have to say and believes my work worth paying for, well... it makes my soul glad. A part of me doesn't want to cash in those checks just so I can frame them and hang them on the wall. "See this here? This is the fruit of my labors and believe me, it was labor."
Writing is like giving birth, though it doesn't give you physical pain it certainly can inflict much mental anguish.
I can honestly say the only reason I want to be paid for my work is so I can live off it and have the opportunity to write all the time.


It's a well-known fact that writers aren't paid much unless they hit the "best sellers" list, but without those other, lesser known, underpaid writers there wouldn't be appliance manuals, interesting magazine articles, news papers, important letters (the sort the government send out to let you know that you've got tax returns) and a whole host of other written information we use every day.


I often get odd and worried glances from people when I declare that I am a freelance writer. I remember one lady lecturing me when I was fourteen on how unsuccessful and inconsistent a career that would be. Well, that may be but when you really love something and want it enough to push and force your way through the odds then perhaps you might just find yourself glad you never heeded their doubt in you.


Writing is always something you can improve on and it's taken me awhile to get to this point (though there are many more points to reach) and until a year or so ago I was hesitant to say "I am a writer." Instead, when asked, I would timidly glance around and mumble "I want to be a writer." Now I have proof to back me up, I am, indeed a published writer and my dreams are slowly but certainly coming true.
It will not be said that I have tried and failed because, in fact, I have already succeeded! Though not all my aspirations have been reached, those few that have been, are the growing foundation and stepping stones needed to reach the higher ones.


Here is a short pep-talk for you uncertain and insecure writers/aspiring authors: confidence is important to keep you moving forward! If you don't have it yourself, make sure you hang around someone who will give you some.